THE site of a former school in Darlington is to be sold to a housing developer.

The former Joseph Pease School, at the rear of Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, in Vane Terrace, will be sold to Barratt Homes to help the college fund a £2.6m extension.

The extension will house science blocks, classrooms and a music and a drama centre.

Although the Further Education Funding Council has agreed to pay 35 per cent of the cost of the extension, the rest must be raised by the college through loans and sale of its assets.

The college is also proposing to sell a residential building in Trinity Road, as well as the former school site, which houses the college's drama centre, a former hockey pitch and tennis courts.

But the sale of land has angered the National Playing Fields Association, which campaigns to keep school land for the community.

A spokeswoman for the association said: "It is a crying shame in this day and age when schools and colleges are forced to sell the family silver to maintain the quality of education for their pupils.

"This is yet another example of a playing field or games pitch being lost to the community."

But principal David Heaton has said that the expansion is necessary to maintain standards at the college.

He said: "This is a potentially very important development for the college.

"We are keen to ensure that Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, currently recognised as one of the best in the country, continues to progress in the quality of education and opportunity which it offers to the young people of Darlington.

"Having just achieved record results at A-level, it is our intention to remain at the forefront of sixth form education in this country."

If the sale goes ahead, 54 homes would be built on the site, consisting of apartments and terraced houses.

There will also be about 60 off-street parking spaces included in the design for new residents.

A planning application for the development has been submitted to Darlington Borough Council, and a date is to be set for an exhibition of the proposals, at which representatives of the college and Barratt Homes would be available to answer questions.